FORUM
What will you lose if consumer
financial protection goes away?
Charlene
CroweU
Guest
Columnist
As Americans adjust to
the realities wrought by the
recent elections, one of the
most important conse
quences has yet to be fully
explored: the future of con
sumer financial protection.
Many successful candi
dates in the recent election
repeatedly claimed that
over-regulation, too much
bureaucracy or both were
harming the economy. In
their view, the nation need
ed to let businesses operate
unhindered and free from
regulatory constraints.
Additionally, many of
the same forces that- years
ago opposed Wall Street
regulation and the creation
of a consumer watchdog
never gave up their quest to
weaken or dismantle the
only governmental agency
whose sole purpose was to
protect consumers.
The problem with both
of these views is that as
Wall Street made billions,
America's people suffered
and lost: jobs, homes, cred
it standing and financial
assets. The only thing that
seemed to grow during the
Great Recession was the
amount of debt consumers
faced and reckoned with at
kitchen tables across the
country.
This column has previ
ously shared how millions
of Americans' losses were
at their worst from 2004
through 2015. Others who
may have held on to their
homes lost so much value
that they continue to owe
more than their homes are
now worth.
There are also still oth
ers who thought they were
enrolling in higher educa
tion to better their lives and
earnings sadly discovered
that heavy student loan
debt was the only thing
they incurred at for-profit
colleges - many whose
doors are now closed.
For all of these reasons
and more, our nation still
needs the Consumer
Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB), its con
sumer cop on the block. In
the coming months we
tmust remain watchful for
legislation and executive
actions that would reverse
the financial justice accom
plished over the past five
years.
Case in point: CFPB's
Director Richard Cordray
has a term of service set to
conclude in July of 2018.
However an October 2016
ruling by a panel of three
judges with the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit said the President
could remove CFPB's
director for cause.
The nation's President
elect might want his own
director - particularly if the
court decision is upheld on
appeal. Similarly, legisla
tion that sought to end both
CFPB's governance by a
single director and funding
independent of Congress
may be revived as an early
priority for the next
Congress.
It was legislative wis
dom that avoided both
approaches in the Dodd
Frank Wall Street Reform
Act. Commission forms of
governance work by major
ity and can lead to gridlock
instead of timely actions.
Secondly, as commission
members are nominated,
lawmakers may refuse to
act.
If CFPB were to
become a part of the annual
appropriation process, the
Bureau could be denied the
necessary funding to do its
legally mandated work.
More importantly, special
interest lobbyists could
exert their influence on
lawmakers to attach limita
tions on the Bureau's work,
blocking CFPB from its
ability to rein in abusive
practices.
These kinds of DC
insider maneuvers have
repeatedly and unfortu
nately affected other feder
al agencies. Consumer
financial justice should
never be subject to the rise
and fall of deep-pocket lob
byists motivated by profits
instead of fairness.
Then there are CFPB's
pending regulations like
debt collection, overdraft,
payday lending and other
small dollar loans. An
unprecedented number of
consumer and civil rights
advocates have clearly and
consistently weighed in on
these issues. Although pub
lic comment may have con
cluded, final regulations
have yet to be announced.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts, who is
widely credited for propos
ing CFPB to President
Obama, is one of the few
who has already spoken up
about all that is at risk. A
Nov. 15 letter to the
President-elect urged him
to serve all consumers.
"Americans are angry
about a federal government
that works for the rich and
powerful and that leaves
everyone else in the dirt,"
wrote Senator Warren.
Separately and in a
recent blog. Warren also
wrote, "Let's be clear about
what rebuilding our econo
my does not mean. It does
not mean handing the keys
to our economy over to
Wall Street so they can run
it for . themselves.
Americans want to hold the
big banks accountable."
And as a consumer, if
you're wondering "what
you have to lose" when it
comes to CFPB, consider
these recent data points on
Bureau achievements:
*$3.6 billion in mone
tary compensation to con
sumers as a result of
enforcement actions;
*$7.7 billion additional
in principal reductions,'
cancelled debts, and other
consumer relief;
* 1 million complaints
handled as of Sept. 1,2016;
and
*3,400 colleges volun
tarily adopting the CFPB
and Department of
Education's Financial Aid
Shopping Sheet.
"Any efforts to change
CFPB's structure would
reduce its effectiveness and
halrm hard working people
across the country," noted
Mike Calhoun, president of
the Center for Responsible
Lending.
I would add that con
sumers who have been
financially harmed are
more interested in justice
than in deliberation or spe
cial exemptions for fayored
industries.
Charlene Crowell is the
deputy communications
director with the Center for
Responsible Lending,
based in the Durham, N.C.
office. She can be reached
a t
Charlene .crowell@ respon
siblelending.org, 919-313
8523 or visit the website at
www.responsiblelend
ing.org.
Were you happy or sad on
Nov. 9, 2016?
James B.
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
Happy or sad? Few can
argue that the 2016
Presidential race was one
of the most mean-spirited
campaigns in the history of
the United States of
America.
It was fueled by insults
and innuendos not by dig
nity and respect. Each day
we woke up to another
salvo of hurt and harm. I
have been a registered
voter now for many years
and I became embarrassed
for America.
Quite honestly as the
campaigns were coming to
an end, whenever there was
a political commercial
coming on, I would simply
turn it off or use the mute
button. I became sick and
tired of being sick and
tired.
Well, the election is
over, and Hillary Clinton
did not win. The political
pundits were wrong and the
media was duped, maybe
even hoodwinked. As the
votes were coming in on
Tuesday, Nov.8,1 watched
the ' major television
anchors reporting and they
acted as if they were watch
ing a real-life horror movie
unfolding in front of their
t/AM aitac
?VIJ VJVO.
The crowd gathered at
the Clinton headquarters
coming to celebrate and
they left early, bewildered
and disappointed. What
they thought was a sure
thing ended up being a bad
thing.
Since Hillary Clinton
lost the election for presi
dent, chances are that her
political career is over. I
doubt that she will try
again. She may be a queen
maker in shaping the politi
cal fortunes of another
woman to run for the presi
dency but she will never be
queen.
Some of the country is
in protest-mode now
because of the election
results. College students
are especially making their
voices heard.
What will the future
hold? Will good will turn
into bad will or no will at
all? We will just have to
wait and see.
Did people of color like
me get out to vote like we
should have? You and I
voted, but did our brothers
and sisters vote? Did our
nieces, nephews and next
door neighbors vote? Early
research on this issue sug
gests we did not.
A few days before the
election. President Barack
Obama was on the Tom
Joyner Morning Show
encouraging people to vote.
Why? Because early voting
showed we hadn't, and
unfortunately this pattern
continued. . .
we must aosoro some
of the blame for who will
be in the White House next
year. I am reminded of a
sports analogy to describe
what happened on Nov. 8,
2016.
You see in sports when
you let an inferior opponent
hang around in the game,
they start believing they
have a chance to win. That
is why you must kill a gnat
with a sledge hammer.
Hillary Clinton's
Republican challenger
should have lost months
ago, but we, the American
people, let him stay arpund
too long and he won.
Now we can lament,
cry and whine all we want
to about this election but it
is too late. We can say what
we would have done, could
' have done and should have
done but it's all postcards
now. It's too late! We had
the chance and the opportu
nity but we didn't seize the
moment. The window was
opened on Nov. 8 but it is
completely closed now for
four years. You can't pry it
open and you can't will it
open. It is closed.
Now what do we who
got up sad on Nov. 9 do?
?First, we must take a
vow and make a pledge
never to let this happen
again. We must take voting
more seriously at all levels.
Our vote counts!
?Second, we must gath
er our wits about us, get up
and get back in the race of
life. We can't let one man
andVor his surrogates take
control of our lives.
?Third, we must
strengthen and enhance 6ur
communities. Pride is self
instilled, not government
instilled. We must defeat
those who come against us
with our brain power and
not our fighting power.
?Fourth, we must
model appropriate behavior
for our families, our friends
and our co-workers. . ji
?Fifth, we can't focus
on who is in the White
House but we must make
sure that God is in our
house.
We must stay prayed up
each day. Read Isaiah 54:7.
This, too, shall pass.
James B. Ewers Jr.
EdD. is a former tennis
champion at Atkins High
School in Winston-Salem
and played college tennis
at Johnson C. Smith
University, where he was
all-conference for four
years. He is a retired col
lege administrator. He can
be reached at
ewers .jr56?yahoo .com.
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